H.R. 1133, Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2013

Summary

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 20, 2013

H.R. 1133 would require an organization that raises funds for a Presidential library to disclose the sources and amounts of such funds. The legislation would apply to foundations that receive $200 or more per contributor per calendar quarter while the current President is in office and during the period before the federal government takes possession of the library or the President leaves office, whichever is later. Fund-raising organizations would be required to provide this information to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The bill would then direct NARA to make the information available to the public in a free, online-searchable database. Finally, the legislation would establish criminal penalties, including fines, for violations of its provisions.

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1133 would cost $4 million over the 2014-2018 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting the legislation could affect direct spending and revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go provisions apply to the bill. However, we estimate that any such impacts would not be significant.

Based on information from NARA, CBO estimates that NARA would spend about $1 million to establish the online database and around $600,000 annually thereafter to update and maintain it. We also estimate that any increases in federal spending for law enforcement, court proceedings, or prison operations related to criminal violations under H.R. 1133, which would be subject to appropriations, would be insignificant.

Because those prosecuted and convicted under H.R. 1133 could be subject to criminal fines, the federal government might collect additional fines if the legislation is enacted. Collections of such fines are recorded in the budget as revenues, then deposited in the Crime Victims Fund, and later spent. CBO expects that any additional receipts and direct spending would be negligible because of the small number of cases involved.

H.R. 1133 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.

H.R. 1133 would impose a private-sector mandate, as defined by UMRA, by requiring organizations established for the purpose of raising funds for Presidential libraries or related facilities to submit information to NARA. The number of such organizations is small, and the cost to report the mandated information would be minimal. CBO estimates, therefore, that the direct cost of the mandate would fall well below the annual threshold established by UMRA for private-sector mandates ($150 million in 2013, adjusted annually for inflation).